Waste can be used to add nutrients to the earth. Ever since engineers discovered the efficiency of piping sludge/sewege waste into water streams, we have been discarding that waste (and usually polluting the waters).

It could be used in a different way, but there are some problems with the waste stream. One being the liquid chemicals that might also be flushed down the drain, making our waste notably less than 100% organic.

Again, in order for our waste streams to truly work, products must be designed for an eventual reincarnation, rather than being sent “away”. If we can develop products that make people feel unique without that implying ‘no one else can use it when I’m done’, we can replenish more of the nutrients we take from the earth, more often, and in a safer way.

“There is no need for shampoo bottles, toothpaste tubes, yogurt and ice-cream cartons, juice containers, and other packaging to last decades (or even centuries) longer than what came inside them…Worry free packaging could safely decompose, or be gathered and used as fertilizer, bringing nutrients back to the soil.”

When looking at creating environmentally sensitive products, the Cradle to Cradle team makes sure they

“look carefully at the potential long term design legacy”

And that is something that all green manufacturers should do when designing a new product or redesigning an old one.